The Cause

by Clint Stoker

  “Let me guess, you can’t tell me what cleaning is?”

  “That’s right.” Helix looked proud. Anything he could hold over Air’s head made him feel that much more important.

  “I can tell you this, Air.” Napal chimed in. “Cleaning is entirely different from anything you have experienced and it’s important. Not like purging. Cleaning is crucial.”

  “That’s why they have a professional like Helix handle it.” Air quipped.

  ---

  They killed time by fanning through files. Napal told a story about his celebration adventures for an hour. Air rolled over excuses in his mind to get Helix to leave. He wanted to pin Napal down. Either Napal would be trusted or he would not. Air felt bad that he even had to consider Napal a threat. They had been friends for long enough. The fact that Napal hadn’t already put Air on trial for guilt was evidence enough to justify making an attempt at something bigger.

  Dex made an appearance. He didn’t waste any time with pleasantries. He asked for one of them to help with the elevator. Air volunteered Helix for the assignment. Helix accepted, but only because he didn’t want to look bad in front of Dex. Finally, Air and Napal were alone, so Air jumped right in.

  “Listen, Napal, about our misunderstanding the other day…”

  “I don’t remember any misunderstanding.” Napal pressed one finger to his pursed lips.

  “Napal, I have an idea that could really change things for us,” said Air.

  “Really? So do I.”

  “You do?” Air raised an eyebrow. This should be interesting.

  “Yeah, I’ve been thinking a lot about it last night.” Napal nodded, his face as serious as it had ever been. “But you should go first.”

  Air paused, then felt more at ease about the entire situation. “Don’t you ever get sick of following every move Dex tells you to make? Did you ever vote for him?”

  Napal’s face lit up with excitement. He snapped his fingers and lunged over the table.

  “What do you have on Dex?”

  “Nothing, besides the fact that he’s drunk on power.”

  “I’ve already written letters to the administration about him. They never do anything about it.”

  “So let’s do something ourselves. You still think about a coup?”

  “Are you being serious?”

  “Do I look like I’m joking?”

  Napal stopped to take the question seriously. “Do you really want to do this?” The possibilities swarmed over Napal as his dream inched toward reality. “I understand where you’re coming from… Go on.”

  “We could put the administration under investigation for guilt. We could start out with Dex just to make sure it works, and then we could take down the entire administration. It wouldn’t be that hard.”

  Napal scratched his brow as he considered the idea. His moment of glory had finally come. “I talked to a guy a few weeks ago about this same thing.”

  “You did? Who did you talk to?”

  “Some guy during a celebration. It’s not important.” Napal leaned in. “He thought the administration could be taken out too, but the more we talked about it, the more it didn’t make sense.”

  “Why not?”

  “We’re playing by their rules. Do you really think they’ll let us take them down?”

  “Maybe…”

  “We can’t. But there is something else we can do.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “We can leave. We don’t need this city anymore. What do you think about starting our own city?” Napal’s eyes lit up.

  The thought of leaving the city, and all the problems associated, sounded nice. Though, Air wasn’t really ambitious enough to start something new. “Alright, let’s do it.” At least this way, Napal would be on his side.

  “There’s a problem though. We can’t just make another city.”

  “Sure we can. We just need enough followers.”

  “Followers aren’t the problem. It’s the rebirth I’m talking about. If we have it, we have everything. Nobody will come without it.”

  Air closed his eyes and swiveled in his chair. It was already over his head. He had no solutions to offer. He didn’t know what he was getting into. “Can we duplicate the rebirth?”

  “If you can figure out how to do that, you can do anything you want.” Napal nodded. He seemed pleased that Air came to the same conclusion that he had always ended up at.

  “So you think we can do it?”

  “I don’t know. We would have to get a doctor in on it and even then. I don’t know what else is involved,” said Napal.

  “Okay, at least that gives us a starting place.” Air pressed his hand together.

  Napal looked at the stacks of files and frowned “Do you want to ditch out early for lunch?”

  Air looked at the clock. “I barely had breakfast.”

  “If you want to start a coup, you are going to have to start out small. Early lunch is a perfect example.” Napal tapped the file with Victoria’s name printed on it. “We still need to do some observations on this waitress. Didn’t you say she worked at a diner?”

  “Maybe we could observe her from the restaurant next door.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “For starters, the food there isn’t very good. Second, I have a little history with her.” Air cringed.

  “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

  They walked down the hall past Dex’s office. The door was closed. His secretary, Mist, was leaning against the door with her hands cupped around her ear. Air and Napal stopped to watch her. When she noticed them, she jolted back. Her face flushed red and she fumbled for words but only a few embarrassed vowels escaped her lips.

  “What’s going on here?” Air laughed.

  “Don’t say anything to Dex about this, please.” She squirmed.

  “We won’t say anything to him so long as you fill us in,” said Napal.

  “Dex is in a meeting with someone. I think he works with the administration.”

  “Who is it now… Administrator Colon?” Napal smirked. “I lose track.”

  “No, I can’t remember this guy ever running for office. He just said he works with the administration. Maybe he is an assistant or something.”

  “What are they meeting about?” said Air.

  “Something about the rebirth, it sounds like Dex is getting an ear-full.”

  The muffled voice of Dex behind the door became more audible. The cadence in his voice suggested the conversation was over. Mist knocked a stack of papers off her desk in a sloppy attempt to sit behind her desk before the door opened. The knob turned and out walked Dex. His face seemed washed-out as if he had just been robbed of all his pride. He would be looking for someone else to take it out on.

  “I look forward to our follow-up interview next week.” The man came out from the office and passed Dex. He was a large man with deep-set features and a burly frame. Air focused on his face and the sound of his voice. He knew this man, but he couldn’t put the pieces together. He watched as the man walked away down the hall. Just before he turned the corner, he glanced back toward Air. He gave a quick nod and he was gone.

  All at once the memory flooded into Air’s mind like a sickening epiphany. He remembered the man differently from the past because of how he was dressed. His face burned in Air’s memory. He closed his eyes and he remembered. The suit, the medals, the beret, it all came together, all at once. The Founder still exists.

  Chapter 11

  The sky gave way to little drops of rain. It started to pour once Air had made up his mind to go find Fields again at the library. He felt torn between Napal and the cause. Maybe he should have gone home and forgotten all about Fields and his council. He didn’t really trust Fields, but he needed more answers. Maybe they had more information that could help him know what to do. Maybe he was only justifying his curiosity. Maybe the cause was a dead end and a bad idea.

  The cold drops soaked though his toga. Air decide
d it would be best to keep quiet about the Founder’s meeting with Dex. A brisk pace along the rain-spotted asphalt helped him calm down. Thunder bellowed overhead and the rain spilled from the heavens. He rushed to a transport station where dozens of celebrators stood huddled together beneath a stainless steel cover. The group was playful and energized for another evening of pointless play. They sang songs while they waited for the transport. It was a strange comfort to see that most residents lived happy and ignorant existences. He thought to himself about how no one would actually miss him if he escaped with Napal. It seemed impossible, but at least it was an option. He would do anything if it meant he wouldn’t have to purge another person.

  After a few minutes of self-reflection, the transport hovered by and stopped just past them. Air remained quiet during the entire ride. He got off a few blocks after the central library and backtracked out of some strange impulse to cover his tracks. His instincts pushed him to be evasive. Up the library steps, he was careful not to be seen knocking on the doors. Elena answered. She didn’t look at all surprised that he’d come back so soon. Inside, his sandals secreted dirty water onto the tile with each spongy step.

  “Come up-stairs and I’ll get you something dry to wear.” Elena touched his arm with all the compassion of a mother. “I was hoping you would stop by tonight. I had a beautiful dream last night that I wanted to tell you about.”

  Air wanted to brush her off, tell her to leave him alone, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. She cared, and it was nice to be cared about, though it seemed impossible to reciprocate. He followed her up a marble staircase to an open room. It was elegant and decorated with red satin curtains and plush couches. The carpet was so soft, he felt embarrassed for walking on it with his dripping toga. Elena didn’t seem to mind. She walked to a door at the focal point of the room.

  “They are having a discussion in here.” She rolled her hand over a gold door knob. “You are welcome to come in and join after you get dry.”

  “Thank you,” Air said.

  She left the door closed and turned to open an adjacent door. It was a small but immaculate bedroom. She opened a chest of drawers, pulled out an outfit, and set it on the bed.

  “Get changed and come meet us in the other room,” she said.

  ---

  A bathroom was connected to the bedroom so he hung his wet celebration outfit over the shower curtain. He put on the clean clothes Elena had left out for him. The pant legs rested with the cuffs above his ankles. The shirt was tight around his chest, but it fit well enough. He studied a picture that sat on a stand next to the bed. It was Eve. She was wearing a dress and a flower in her hair. She smiled, missing most of her teeth. He studied the proportions of her face and body. The more he looked, it seemed familiar. A normal adult with those proportions would look like a freak, but Eve seemed acceptable the way she was. He caught himself smiling, so he put the picture back and walked out the door.

  The discussion stopped the moment Air opened the door. They sat around a long table like a war council making preparations. The council seemed to grow in numbers every time he saw them.

  “You don’t have to stop for me,” Air said.

  “Have you made a decision to join us, or did you decide to return those sleeping pills?” Fenton sat folding his arms in defiance.

  “Come off it, Fenton.” Anna-Desi swatted at his arm.

  Air ignored them both and sat in the closest vacant chair. He looked to his right to see the new faces. Air convulsed as he recognized Dharmesh, from the news, sitting next to him. “Dharmesh is in on this too?” Air whirled around expecting an explanation.

  “You really did wake the sleeping giant, Fields. I can’t believe it.” Dharmesh smiled.

  It took a moment for Air to realize Dharmesh was referring to him. “A sleeping giant… is that what you’ve been calling me?”

  Fields just smiled in a humble way as if no explanation could make it sound any better.

  “I don’t want to ruin any grand plans you have for me, but I just came to let you all know that I’m going to leave the city. I’ve got a friend that says it’s possible, so we’re going for it.”

  “Are you crazy?” Anna-Desi gasped. “You can’t just leave the city. They’ll send you to be purged before you make it across the border.”

  “You forget. I am a purger now. I’ll get out just fine.”

  “Let him go,” said Fenton “We don’t need him anyway.”

  “We need all the help we can get.” Anna-Desi shot back at him.

  Air thought he should intervene before any fights started over him. “You don’t need my help. You are all going to sit around here until you finally decide to grow old and die. It’s pointless. I’m getting out of here with my friends.”

  “What about everyone else?” Anna-Desi jerked.

  “You are welcome to come with me….”

  “It isn’t about us. What about the rest of the city?” she frowned. “There are millions of people living unaware.”

  “What about them? They are happy living in the city. They have everything they want here. Why do you insist on ruining it for everyone else?” Air jabbed. He wasn’t going to make anything easy.

  “Let him go,” Fenton said.

  “No, we need him!” Anna-Desi exploded to make sure there would be no more arguments.

  Dharmesh shifted in his seat and took control. “Please, Air. We’re not going to be passive anymore. Listen to our plan before you make any decisions.”

  Fair enough. “I’ll listen to your plan, but I’ve already made up my mind.”

  “Then why did you come back here?”

  “You all seem like nice people. I thought you all might like to get out of here too.”

  “There’s another solution.” Dharmesh gave Air one of his patented ‘trustworthy newsman’ looks. “We can change things around if we can get Ben voted into the administration.”

  Air looked across the table. In all the bickering, he had not noticed that Ben sitting next to Ganton. Ben was as famous as entertainers get in the city. He had been in countless movies, and even written some of his own. He had a reputation for perfecting the craft.

  “When Ben is in office, he can eliminate the guilt policy. This will allow for more change to take place.” Dharmesh seemed thoroughly convinced he was right.

  Air couldn’t help but think of a handful of scenarios that would undoubtedly lead to another purging. He couldn’t go down that road with them, but he couldn’t stop them. He willed himself not to care. “Good luck with that. I’ll be gone by then, but I hope it works.” It was all he could say without sounding too invested.

  “You won’t be gone, not unless you’re leaving tonight.” Anna-Desi tried to defuse Air’s plans.

  “You’re running for office in the morning?” Air turned to Ben. This was too much, too fast.

  “Yes,” Ben smiled, “we need to act quickly if we are going to get this done in time to stop the rebirth.”

  Air looked at Fields with disgust. “I thought voting didn’t do any good?” Air gave a scolding look at Fields.

  “I’m not sure it will work, but if Dharmesh and Ben say they can do it, I’m going to support them.”

  “Come on Fields. You had it right the first time. Voting is a waste of time.” Air wanted to pull his hair out.

  Dharmesh put a hand on Air’s shoulder like an offer of friendship. “Voting is only worthless because the issues are. The people haven’t had the chance to vote on something like this before. It could be our best chance to change things right now. It’s just a starting place, but it will be a big step.”

  “But if you get rid of the rebirth, nobody will choose to die. It’ll just happen to them.” Air tried to retrace the conversation to figure out when he started caring what the council did.

  “The people will make the choice when they vote for the end of the rebirth,” Fields explained.

  “No one will vote for the rebirth to end. The residents don’t wa
nt to die.” Air cringed at the thought of a city riddled with corpses.

  “They will choose to die when we introduce them to Eve,” said Fields, “The city is full of good people. When they understand the necessity for death, they will want to make room for another generation. Eve represents that generation.”

  “The city won’t go for it. You can’t even get the rest of this council to choose death. Besides you and Elena, no one else in this room has made that choice. No one else in the city will make the choice.”

  The council sat in silence. No loaded arguments or positive thinking. Tears welled up in Anna-Desi’s eyes and she lowered her head.

  “It won’t do us any good to die before the rest of the city.” Fenton stared at the wood grain in the table. “If we die now, there won’t be anyone to continue the cause.”

  “You’re all cowards. If you were willing to die for your cause, you would be dying now.” Air jabbed.

  “Oh, Air,” Elena whispered. She made Air feel a little disappointed for being so blunt. “Dharmesh and Ben are going to need our support in the morning.” She nodded with determination. “They need our votes and our on-going support. We can’t stop until the rebirth is cancelled. We feel good about this, Air. It’s the right thing to do.”

  “I think it’ll work. I really do.” Fenton’s approval didn’t really mean anything to Air.

  “This is a mistake,” Air sighed. He wanted to fight them on it. To make them reconsider. What happened to leaving the council alone? What about leaving the city with Napal?

  Dharmesh and Ben excused themselves to make preparations for the campaign. Air didn’t say another word as he listened to Fenton explain a nightmare he had the night before. Starving tribesmen and earth shattering explosions. Fields took notes and pondered on the events in the dream. He pondered over them like sacred writ. After Fenton’s explanation, Air stood up to leave the council, but Elena took Air aside before he could leave them for good.